Ivan Andreyevich Rubanyuk (; 29 August 1896 – 3 October 1959) was a Soviet

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

who rose to field army command during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

World War I and Russian Civil War

Ivan Andreyevich Rubanyuk was born on 29 August 1896 in the village of Ognarovo, Antopolsky volost, Kobrinsky Uyezd,

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

. His ethnicity was listed in documents during his early service period as Lithuanian, but in later documents changed to Ukrainian. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he entered the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

as a

one-year volunteer A one-year volunteer, short EF (German language, de: ''Einjährig-Freiwilliger''), was, in a number of national armed forces, a Conscription, conscript who agreed to pay his own costs for the procurement of equipment, food and clothing, in return ...

on 15 May 1915 and was sent to the Life Guards Jager Regiment. He graduated from the training detachment of the regiment in 1916 and served as a regimental clark with the rank of '' yefreytor'' and junior unter-ofitser. With the regiment, he fought on the Southwestern Front, participating in the Brusilov offensive. After demobilization in December 1917 he went to

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

, where he worked in the

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

of the Kaluga Uyezd Rationing Committee. During the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Rubanyuk was conscripted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on 20 July 1918 and sent to the newly formed 21st Rifle Regiment of the 1st Kaluga Brigade. Here he continued his service as a platoon commander and assistant regimental adjutant. In the latter he fought on the Southern Front against the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Ar ...

between April and November 1919. From April 1920 he served as an assistant company commander in the 1st Separate Battalion of the Kharkov Military District, and from October of that year was adjutant of the 3rd Ukrainian Reserve Regiment in the cities of

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

and

Sumy Sumy (, , ) is a city in northeastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel (river), Psel River and has a population of making it the 23rd-largest in the country. The city ...

. After the disbandment of the regiment in February 1921 he was transferred to the

ChON CHNOPS and CHON are mnemonic acronyms for the most common elements in living organisms. "CHON" stands for carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, which together make up more than 95 percent of the mass of biological systems. "CHNOPS" adds ...

, then served as adjutant in the 2nd Kharkov Territorial Regiment and the 8th Special Purpose Regiment. From October 1921 he commanded a company in the 4th Special Purpose Regiment, in which he fought in battles against the anti-Soviet forces of Popov in the area of Belopolye.

Interwar period

From February 1922 Rubanyuk served as adjutant of the 7th Regiment of the VChK, and from June as acting head clerk of the operational section of a separate special purpose company. From January 1923 he commanded the Separate Kupyansk Special Purposes Company in the Kharkov Military District. From May he served as assistant chief of staff of the ChON in Kharkov Governorate, and from December as assistant commander of a separate ChON battalion. From April to June 1924 he completed the courses for senior and higher command personnel in Kharkov. After graduation he was appointed assistant battalion commander in the 296th Rifle Regiment of the 99th Rifle Division at Cherkassy, and from August served as assistant head of the 1st section of the division staff. In June 1925 he transferred to the 100th Rifle Division at Belaya Tserkov, serving as a senior assistant chief of the 1st section of the division staff. From October 1927 to June 1928 he completed the commanders' advanced training course in Moscow. From May to October 1929 he commanded a battalion of the 299th Rifle Regiment, then returned to his former position in the division staff, and from May to December 1931 temporarily served as division chief of staff. From 11 June 1934 he commanded the 7th Rifle Regiment of the 3rd Rifle Division. During the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

, in May 1937 then-Major Rubanyuk was arrested, removed from the Red Army on 31 May 1937 and until 16 July 1940 under "investigation" by the NKVD. After being freed he was restored to the Red Army, being assigned as a commander of a cadet battalion at the Odessa Infantry School in October.

World War II

From the beginning of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

Rubanyuk was sent to the front in June and appointed commander of the 134th Army Reserve Rifle Regiment of the 9th Army at Pervomaysk. He commanded this regiment until October 1941, then was appointed commander of the 591st Rifle Regiment of the 176th Rifle Division of the Southern Front. The regiment saw its first action in fighting for the station of Debaltsevo, then fought as part of the 12th Army in the operational group of General F.V. Kamkov. Rubanyuk led the regiment through the winter in the Donbass defensive and the Rostov defensive and offensive operations. In February 1942 Lieutenant Colonel Rubanyuk was appointed deputy division commander of the 176th, and took command of the division on 19 July. As division commander, with the 12th Army, he led it in the battles for Voroshilovsk,

Voroshilovgrad Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

, and others, and the retreat to the Don. Subsequently the division conducted battles for Bataysk, Budyonnovsk, on the

Manych The Manych () is a river in the Black Sea–Caspian Steppe of Southern Russia. It flows through the western and central part of the Kuma–Manych Depression. In ancient times, it was known as the Lik. A tributary of the Don (river), Don, it is l ...

and Mineralnye Vody. Then, entering the 37th Army of the Transcaucasian Front, the division concentrated in the Mozdok region, where it repulsed German attempts to break through the main ridge of the Caucasus. For active participation in the Mozdok-Malgobek and Nalchik-Ordzhonikidze defensive operations the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Rubanyuk was promoted to command the

11th Rifle Corps The 11th Rifle Corps () was a corps of the Soviet Red Army, Red Army, formed twice. The 11th was first formed in 1922 in the Petrograd area but soon moved to the Belorussian Military District. After fighting in the Soviet invasion of Poland, the c ...

on 13 October and received the rank of major general on 10 November. He led it in the North Caucasus Offensive, then from 11 February 1943 commanded the 10th Guards Rifle Corps, then part of the 56th Army of the Transcaucasian Front. During 1943 the corps was part of the 18th, 56th, 44th, and 28th Armies of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

, Southern, 4th, 3rd, and

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

s. In March and April 1944 its units as part of the 5th Shock Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front participated in the

Odessa Offensive The Odessa Offensive Operation (Russian language, Russian: Одесская Наступательная Операция, Odesskaya Nastupatel'naya Operatsiya), known on the German side as the Defensive battle of the 6th Army between Bug and Dni ...

and the liberation of

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

. Then as part of the 46th Army the corps participated in the

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and Prague Offensives.

Postwar

After the end of the war Rubanyuk continued to command the corps in the Southern Group of Forces, then in the

Odessa Military District The Odessa Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavia and five Oblasts of Ukraine, Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa ...

. From March 1947 to June 1948 he completed the Higher Academic Course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy, then commanded the 20th Guards Rifle Corps of the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

. From April 1952 he commanded the 14th Army, and then the 25th Army from May 1953, in the Far Eastern Military District. Rubanyuk was dispatched to China in December 1957 as senior military advisor to the commander of a military district of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

. From January 1959 he served as military specialist at a military district, was the senior advisor in the group of Soviet military advisors in the PRC. During this position, he died in Moscow on 3 October 1959. He was buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

. He was promoted to colonel general on August 8, 1955. He was a recipient of the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(2), the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(3), the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

2nd class and the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

2nd class. He died in Moscow.

References

Citations

1896 births 1959 deaths People from Drahichyn district Soviet colonel generals Belarusian people of World War I Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubanyuk, Ivan